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Part 2

It has today almost become customary to radically change pieces in the act of mixing and to increase the creative input of the DJ even to the level of the actual composition. What's your take on that and in how much do you make use of these possibilities yourself? Is there such a thing as 'disrespectful mixing'?

I don't think there is disrespectful mixing, but sometimes there can be not so classy editing. Where there will be certain elements or grooves that take too much away from the original track. I mean disrespectful mixing, it’s mixing and you are at a party, at a club, its not like you're at the Salzburg Festival and you are disrespecting the best composer of the 20th century and disrespectfully conducting his music. It's a party!

One of the most important aspects of a DJ set are the transitions from one track to the next. What makes a transition successful from your perspective? What are some of the considerations that go into deciding which track to play next - are these purely subjective to you or are there objective things that work or don't work?

It can be subjective to things that work, or don't work, it really depends on the moment. It can be what I think is needed to or to build up a certain energy, or move it in a different direction. Or what I think has to happen now objectively for people to not leave the dance floor. For me it's mostly practical thinking.

How do you see the balance between giving the crowd what they want and treating them to something new? What's your take on the idea of the DJ as an "educator" and is the relationship with the dancers a collaborative one or, as Derrick May once put it, a “battle”?

I think that the balance should be a 50/50 mixture of what the crowd want, and the DJ treating them to something new. I wouldn't see myself as an educator no. DJing is a situation for me to present music. If you present the crowd with something new or something very fresh sounding, then it's a great experience for people to hear that in the club on the dance floor. It's cool to present people with new music, but I don't think it's cool to say you are educating people, I find that a bit pompous. I wouldn't call it a battle no. The battle is to become a DJ, to get yourself into the clubs, and be given the chance to play and be heard.

It is customary for many DJs to also produce tracks of their own, thereby lifting the former 'division of labor' between the two. How do you feel about this – and in which way can both sides benefit from this? How does your work as a DJ influence your studio productions and vice versa?

The work as a DJ and producer is not the same as it used to be. Like before in the 80's and 90's a DJ really had the chance to dominate the charts with his edits, you had a DJ making tracks to test in the club and see if it could be a hit on the radio. This has totally changed. I don't think it is important for a DJ to be a good producer or vice versa. You could never have produced any music at all and still be an amazing DJ. I think it is slightly unfortunate that DJs feel they have to focus on making music these days instead of focusing being a good DJ. There are probably a lot of DJs that would be better off perfecting their skills by playing as much as possible, rather than feeling pressure to spend too much time in the studio.
My work as a DJ has definitely influenced and had an impact on my productions because through DJing I have listened to so many types of music that I wouldn't ever have listened to out of the club.

With more and more musicians creating than ever and more and more of these creations being released, what does this mean for you as an artist in terms of originality? What are some of the areas where you currently see the greatest potential for originality and who are some of the artists and communities that you find inspiring in this regard?

I don't really believe in originality, and I don't care for people to be original. Because what we are doing is party, house, disco, techno, there is nothing original in that. The only thing that I find extremely important is individuality. What you are playing, and your sound won't be original, but at least it's your sound and you are being true to it and standing strong. Nobody can really do anything that hasn’t been done before. There are always artists that come and play something special, but not something new. There are some people who are very talented and have a powerful way of being heard, or have the balls to not play what everyone else is playing. This can also take a lot of experience and maturity.
Also it is important to not be homogenous, so that the people in the clubs and on the dance floors around the world and constantly enriched with many types of music and are having an enriched experience. This makes our scene stronger.

Reaching audiences usually involves reaching out to the press and possibly working with a PR company. What's your perspective on the promo system? In which way do music journalism and PR companies  change the way music is perceived by the public?

I have learned that PR is beneficial in making yourself and your music heard. For instance there are a lot of times where people say “you haven't released anything in a while” and I’m like "well actually I made three remixes that quite a lot of people have played” but nobody will know they belong to me. It is important as a DJ to get your music out there, and also to sell it, because at the end of the day this is also what we live off. It’s also good to stay in people’s minds outside the dance floor. It can generate a lot of good but can also generate a lot of rubbish. It really can work both ways. Today with some of the DJ polls out there it can be slightly ridiculous as you can get emails, or reminders etc “please vote for me we had so much fun together, I should be your favourite DJ again”. Obviously I think this has gone way past good taste and way past what we are doing. I don’t want to feel that I need to be elected to something. So that part of it can be a little bit too much.

It is remarkable, in a way, that DJing has remained relevant for such a long time. Do you nonetheless have a vision of DJing, an idea of what it could be beyond its current form?

It’s great, but I don't think it’s overly remarkable. It’s like a pharmacy, people will always be sick and need medicine, people will always want to party and want to let loose, listen to music and dance to it, its like a ritual for some. I hope it's not going to be anything too beyond it's current form, it is somehow already getting a little too extreme with certain aspects of the commercial DJ world. Not that the commercial world doesn't have its place, but it has nothing to do with where I am from as a DJ, and what I am interested in.


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